Written Answers Wednesday 26 July 2006

Scottish Executive

Blood Transfusion Service

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to safeguard for the NHS the skills and experience of staff at the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service’s Protein Fractionation Centre following the decision not to retain the centre within the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: Every effort will be made to redeploy those staff who wish to remain with NHSScotland. This would involve working with individuals to determine their skills and aspirations and to see what redeployment opportunities are available across NHSScotland. In some instances staff may wish to retrain under the NHSScotland National Services Scotland Careers in Transition policy which is currently under development.

Environment

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26818 by Tavish Scott on 23 June 2006, what guidance it has issued on the responsibilities of Scottish public authorities within the meaning of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 and whether private companies with public functions have responsibilities under the regulations in respect of those functions which (a) are public functions and (b) may affect the environment.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive published Guidance for Scottish Public Authorities and Interested Parties on the implementation of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004  in September 2005. Copies can be obtained in the Blackwell’s Bookshop, South Bridge, Edinburgh or may be viewed on the Scottish Executive’s website at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk.

  The definition of "Scottish public authority" may apply to bodies which are not public bodies but which meet criteria of control and public responsibility, function or service in relation to the environment. The guidance discusses factors relevant to implementation, including functions typically subject to the Regulations and the nature of control.

Environment

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the total carbon emission from each of its departments in each year since 1997.

Ross Finnie: No estimates have been made of total annual carbon emissions from each of the Executive’s departments. Emissions data for Scotland are categorised by sector according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Common Reporting Format. These are available in Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990-2003 , a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 37621).

Financial Inclusion

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is concerned that the increasing number of cash machines charging consumers for transactions could have an impact on the progress of the Executive’s Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive considers many factors which could impact on progress with its Financial Inclusion Action Plan, published in January 2005. We continue to work with a range of partners, including local authorities, banks and other financial institutions, community groups and organisations such as Citizens Advice Scotland to address the various issues involved.

  While the number of charging cash machines is increasing, there is no evidence of a significant decline in the number of free machines, which account for 97% of all such cash withdrawals. The recent report, Out of pocket, from the Citizens Advice network, provides new information on the impact of charging cash machines on vulnerable and low income groups. We will consider the report’s recommendations alongside our existing work to increase access to money advice, improve financial capability and encourage access to financial services such as bank accounts.

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26818 by Tavish Scott on 23 June 2006, whether it intends to review Schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 in respect of including harbour authorities or their public functions.

Ms Margaret Curran: There are powers provided for within the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to review Schedule 1, and this was one of the topics which the Executive consulted on earlier this year as part of our current review of aspects of the legislation. It would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of the review by commenting on particular bodies.

Health

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to alert GPs, health visitors and mothers about positional plagiocephaly in newborn infants and the means by which the severity of the condition may be reduced.

Lewis Macdonald: Parents of children with this benign condition are given advice on diagnosis as well as further information about the condition. The current advice and treatment include supervised ‘tummy time’ while the child is awake and, reinforcing the Back to Sleep message, positioning the child’s head on different sides each night.

  The Scottish Executive is currently in discussion with NHS Health Scotland to develop an information leaflet on this condition. The leaflet will be made available to parents and NHS staff.

Housing

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Hugh Henry: The information requested is not held centrally.

MMR Vaccine

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the report in the Sunday Telegraph on 19 June 2006 which stated that UK ministers have agreed that tests should be carried out on children whose families claim that they were damaged by MMR, what information it has on which ministers have agreed to this development and whether it was consulted on this matter.

Mr Andy Kerr: Ministers at the Department of Health have not agreed that tests should be carried out on children whose families claim that they were damaged by MMR and have not agreed to an MMR autism inquiry. Neither has the Department of Health issued a statement saying that there will be an inquiry.

MMR Vaccine

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the report in the Sunday Telegraph on 19 June 2006 on the MMR/autism debate which stated that the Department of Health would be very happy to consider information from families and would welcome appropriate samples being analysed by acknowledged international experts in the field, what arrangements are being made to allow Scottish families to participate in this exercise

Mr Andy Kerr: In June 2006 the Department of Health was made aware that the parents of the children whose tests had been reported as positive were offering this information to the department. The Department of Health has stated that it would be very happy to accept this information from the families, and would welcome appropriate samples being analysed by acknowledged international experts in the field and would facilitate this by passing the samples to appropriate laboratories. The laboratories would make the results known.

  To date no cases have been presented to the Department of Health. We are happy to liaise with our colleagues in Department of Health if any such cases were presented in Scotland.

Maternity Services

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines are issued in respect of the number of ultrasound scans which should take place during pregnancy and the timings of such scans.

Lewis Macdonald: A Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland published in February 2001 sets out clearly and explicitly the maternity service which should be offered across Scotland. This includes details of the number and timing of ultrasound scans which should be offered during pregnancy.

National Health Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26407, how it defines "routine use" in respect of mixed-sex general wards.

Mr Andy Kerr: The answer to question S2W-26407 means that the Executive is not aware of any general wards which ordinarily accommodate patients of both sexes at the same time. In extreme situations where patient numbers outstretch bed availability, patients may be placed in mixed sex accommodation. Patients should be advised of this situation and re-allocated as soon as possible.

Organ Retention

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that bereaved families wishing to raise issues regarding organ removal and retention in respect of cases of sudden death before 2000 are provided with details of relevant post mortem reports.

Mr Andy Kerr: Where a death is referred to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, procurators fiscal generally release post mortem reports to the immediate family on request. It is normal practice to suggest that a copy be sent to the family’s GP as the language can be quite technical and the contents distressing. A meeting with the pathologist who carried out the post mortem can also be arranged so that he or she can explain fully to the family the results of the post mortem.

Organ Retention

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive by what means it is publicising the rights of bereaved families to reclaim before 2007 any organs which have been retained by hospitals without consent.

Mr Andy Kerr: These rights were publicised widely in 2002. There are no plans for further publicity.

Physiotherapy

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time has been for physiotherapy in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information requested is not available centrally.

  The first national collection of information on waiting times for services provided by Allied Health Professionals, including physiotherapy, was undertaken on 14 September 2005. The results from this census were published by ISD Scotland on 6 July 2006, in the AHP Census – Waiting for AHP Services Report and is available from:

  http://www.isdscotland.org/.

Roads

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimate it has made of the volume of minerals which will be required for the construction of the M74 northern extension; what its policies are for sourcing the necessary minerals locally; what work it has carried out to satisfy itself that sufficient local mineral sources exist in order to avoid large volumes of material being transported over long distances into Glasgow, and whether the statutory consents are in place to allow all minerals to be obtained, through extraction or recycling, from within acceptable transport distances.

Tavish Scott: An analysis of the quantity of materials required and the proposed mitigation is described in some detail in the Environmental Statement prepared for the scheme a copy of which can be obtained from the Scottish Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 40051).

  The sourcing of materials and any necessary statutory consents will be a commercial matter for the contractor for the works. During the development of the scheme, preliminary investigations were undertaken into potential sources of infill within Central Scotland. A number of these sources offer the potential for rail haulage to the site.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the European Commission in respect of the tendering process for the Holyrood project, what plans it has to undertake a review of public sector tendering processes; when such a review will take place; what criteria will be applied in the review; who the members of any review panel will be, and how those members will be selected.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the question S2W-27162, answered on 25 July 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Scottish Executive Staff

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what childcare provision and assistance is available to its staff.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive provides an on-site nursery at its Victoria Quay building with places for 36 children.

  In addition, in March of this year, the Executive introduced a childcare voucher scheme that is available to all of its employees who have eligible children.

Scottish Executive Staff

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive which of its main premises have childcare facilities on site.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive has one nursery, which is located at the Victoria Quay building in Edinburgh.

Scottish Executive Staff

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are waiting lists for places at any of the childcare facilities which it provides for its employees.

Mr Tom McCabe: There is a waiting list for the Scottish Executive nursery at Victoria Quay, which is the only such facility now run by Executive. There are currently 35 children on the waiting list.

Tourism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many unique visits there have been to www.scotlandistheplace.com in each month since its launch.

Mr Tom McCabe: Data on the number of unique visits to www.scotlandistheplace.com each month since its launch in May 2004 is set out in the following table.

  

2004
Number


May
5,087


June
4,694


July
7,624


August
6,487


September
5,635


October
5,725


November
5,622


December
8,902



  

2005
Number


January
14,346


February
14,578


March
24,493


April
18,462


May
16,313


June
16,889


July
13,003


August
13,495


September
13,528


October
16,681


November
14,220


December
16,170



  

2006
Number


January
17,657


February
16,016


March
19,365


April
19,049


May
18,641


June
43,432